A source within the illicit tobacco trade says the prospect of raids by the Department of Health does not bother them, saying they are now "just routine".
Parliament on Thursday passed the Public Health Amendment (Prohibited Tobacco and Other Products) Bill 2026, allowing the government to close businesses found supplying illicit tobacco for up to one year and hand out penalties of more than $600,000.
Retailers of legal cigarettes have embraced the laws, aimed at shutting down the illicit tobacco trade, with one business owner saying reform was a long time coming.
Deputy Premier Guy Barnett said there was no holding back.
"We are now ready, through Tasmanian police and the Department of Health tobacco inspectors, to enforce the full force of the law with respect to this illegal trade," he said.
Up to 80 per cent of total tobacco consumed in 2025 was illicit, national figures revealed, with the federal government excise on tobacco credited for creating fertile ground for a growing demand for black market products in Tasmania.
According to a source, who is a seller of illicit tobacco, the acts of violence seen on the mainland, such as the firebombings of 'gift shops' in Victoria, had not reached Tasmania.
The seller did not believe they should be labelled as a criminal despite selling the illegal product.
"The only thing they (the government) find criminal is not paying tax on something," the source said.
"Painting someone as a criminal when they are not is probably more criminal."
Mr Barnett said the laws were about protecting Tasmanians, ensuring that laws are complied with, and supporting small business.
The government's tough stance was backed by the Tasmanian Independent Retailers, with chief executive John Devine saying the illicit trade had devastated legitimate businesses.
Baxter IGA owner David Baxter thanked the government for its legislation, pointing to a 60 per cent decline in cigarette sales as a result of the illicit trade.
Meanwhile, the inside source described themselves as "another small business", and argued their trade benefitted the community because the cheaper cigarettes meant people could save more money.
With the legislation now passed, the prospect of raids by Department of Health officials did not concern them.
"At the end of the day, they've got a job to do," the source said.
However, the laws were a long time coming for another Northern Tasmanian business owner The Examiner spoke to.
They said in the last three years their cigarettes sales had dropped up to 60 per cent, with losses of $100,000 to $150,000 a year, attributing it to the illicit trade.
"We were talking to them (the government) about this three years ago. We went from being the best tobacco laws in the country to the worst tobacco laws in the country, so it's taken them way too long," the business owner said.
They have also had to cut staff and put prices of other products up.
The new laws will help, they said, but won't make a difference if people can get away with buying cigarettes online and having them delivered by post.
"These illegal shops have also set up a network where they'll do home deliveries," they said.
"You ring up, order, and they'll have a day or two where they'll go out in the van and drop off all your cartons.
"The money is that lucrative."